


Felix's Extravagant Brilliant Stupendous New Year's Proposal

by fraldarian



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Marriage Proposal, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28470762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraldarian/pseuds/fraldarian
Summary: It's New Years Eve in the Fraldarius household, and Felix has approximately three hours left until he proposes to Annette. Nothing can go wrong, right?
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 7
Kudos: 42
Collections: Netteflix Secret Seteth 2020





	Felix's Extravagant Brilliant Stupendous New Year's Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> a short fic for the netteflix secret seteth event! some of the prompts were supportive rodrigue and celebrations, so i mixed those two and went for a small tale about felix proposing.
> 
> as always, you can find me on twitter @fraldarian.

_Hours until midnight: 3_

_Hours until Felix proposes: 3_

“You’re staring at the clock again,” Sylvain tells Felix at approximately 9:00 PM on New Year’s Eve.

“I am not.”

“Yes, you are.” Sylvain double dips his pita bread into the bowl of tzatziki. On any normal occasion he would swat Sylvain’s hand away and tell him to grow better manners. But this is a special night, because Felix has a ring burning a hole in his breast pocket and enough sweat under his arms to swim in.

“I’m just checking the time,” he settles on. “I have to know when it’s ten minutes to twelve.”

Sylvain laughs, short and sharp. He settles back into the couch he’s lounging on and nods to the television behind them. “I’m sure you’ll know. Mercedes hasn’t budged from changing the channel for five hours.”

At the mention of Sylvain’s fiancee, Felix turns his head and stares at Mercedes. She’s got her back turned to them, with Annette in her lap and the two of them laughing over another of Dedue’s stone-faced jokes.

Annette is what he really focuses on though, because Felix Hugo Fraldarius has a dilemma, and it involves a proposal and the realization that he is the last out of all his friends to be engaged.

Sylvain is engaged to Mercedes. Dimitri is two weeks away from marrying Marianne. Dedue is _already_ married to Ashe, and Ingrid became engaged last week after five years of dating Dorothea. After growing tired of waiting for Ingrid to pop the question, Dorothea did it herself. Felix doesn’t need his own relationship with Annette to turn out like that.

There is another problem though: years ago, Felix made a vow to _never_ ask his friends for love advice, no matter what. In college he asked Sylvain how to score his first time, and it ended up with his pants thrown out a window and the girl he liked calling him an asshole. He’s sure Dimitri isn’t that much better, because as far as Felix is aware he cries during romcoms and broke down when he proposed to Marianne. Dedue stares at Felix whenever he gets close, and Ingrid? Everyone knows how she is.

In the end, he had to go to the one person he wished he didn’t. 

Rodrigue is fine, he supposes. He’s gotten better in recent years, but there’s a layer of hostility between them that hasn’t fully gone away since Glenn’s death. But, his father had enough game to not only wed his mother but conceive both he and his brother too. That’s got to be at least something, right?

When he asks Rodrigue how to go about proposing, he gets a face-splitting grin and a pat to the back that’s only slightly less rough than Sylvain or Dimitri’s are. “That’s my son!” his father laughs, a little too hearty and a little too loud. “I thought you’d never grow the balls.”

Oh. Thanks, Felix supposes. 

“You have to make it special,” Rodrigue tells him a little while later. They’re seated over dinner, if you can call it that, and Felix digs into his ready-made five minute meal. Potatoes and pasta.

“I’m not stupid. I know that.” He frowns. “I just don’t know how to go about it. Annette likes big spectacles. She’ll want it to be memorable.”

Rodrigue laughs, which means Felix assumes he’s said something funny. There’s nothing funny about proposal stress. “Felix, any proposal is memorable as long as you don’t half-ass it. Just be genuine.”

A roll of Felix’s eyes. “Any other great advice?”

“New Year’s Eve is in three weeks.”

Felix’s brain begins to kick into motion.

_Hours until midnight: 2_

_Hours until Felix proposes: 2_

Annette knows something is wrong, because around 10:00 PM she pulls Felix aside and asks, “Are you alright? You’re sweating quite a bit.”

“It’s just the jalapeño poppers,” Felix says. “You know how it is. Extra spicy.”

They both know that’s a lie, because Felix Hugo Fraldarius does not cave at a cheese-stuffed pepper. Not when he’s won the _Wild Wing “Blazin’ Wing Challenge”_ three times in a row. 

“Right,” Annette deadpans. “And I’m single.”

Ha. What a great joke, Felix thinks.

“I think Dimitri undercooked my portion of turkey. The breast _did_ look a little pink.”

Annette frowns. “Really? Are you telling the truth? You should have said something at dinner!”

It’s not that Felix _likes_ lying to Annette. Really! But how else is he going to get out of this? Especially when the ring that rests above his heart seems about as heavy as the coffin surely waiting for him after this night is over. Maybe he really will see Glenn sooner than he thought.

“Yeah. Really. I think I should have a word with him.”

Annette pouts. The way her cheeks puff and her nose scrunches is positively adorable, and Felix has the overwhelming urge to press a kiss to the centre of her lips as if this is any other night. For a second, he feels no impending fear about the possibility of this night turning awry. If it were not for the company of their guests in the room next over, Felix would have suggested soft covers and even softer kisses in a bed big enough to house both of them.

Except that isn’t the case, and Ashe’s yell of excitement as he manages to buy Boardwalk on their Monopoly board can be heard loud and clear.

Annette sighs. “Okay, Fefe. Just be quick.”

“I will.” Smiling Faintly, Felix ducks to cup her cheeks and press a kiss to the top of her head.

Dimitri is busy racking up his hotels across the board, but there’s eight of them playing and his turn has just passed. Which means, based on how much Sylvain gets into his turn, Felix has about twenty minutes.

“Come here,” Felix hisses just as Mercedes says, “Ingrid! I’ll make Sylvain give you the horse playing piece if you offer up your B&O Railroad.”

“Felix! What’s wrong?” Dimitri whispers back, albeit with less bite.

Felix looks around, locking eyes with Dedue who is staring at him from across the board. Yeah. He definitely knows what’s up. Turning back to Dimitri, Felix tugs harder at his sleeve. “I need to talk to you. _Now._ ”

Dimitri shrugs him off. “Okay. But I need to come back for my next turn. I need to turn the rest of my houses into hotels!”

“Sure. Whatever.” Felix rolls his eyes.

Eventually, finally, Dimitri stands up. Turning to the group, he offers a small smile and excuses himself. “I’ll just be a moment. I need to go to the washroom with Felix.”

Silence.

“What he _means_ is,” Felix hisses, “I need to talk to him.” Turning to Dimitri, he makes a zipping motion across his own lips. “Maybe quit talking, yeah?”

Dimitri nods quickly. Felix is pretty sure Mercedes’s deal goes through by the time they’re exiting the room.

Sitting on his bed, Felix frowns and hunches over. “She knows something is going on.”

Dimitri sits down next to him, a deep laugh reverberating through even Felix’s chest. “Felix. I think anyone would be able to guess that something is going on. You ate not one tray of Ashe’s wings, but two.”

Felix shrugs, looking away. “I’m just distracted. Eating helps.”

A laugh bursts forth from Dimitri’s chest that reverberates even through Felix. The other man raises his hand, slapping between the back of Felix’s shoulders in what’s supposed to be a friendly gesture, but instead makes him lurch forward. Dimitri doesn’t notice. “You could say that again! Now, tell me, friend. How can I help?”

Lifting his hand to rub between his shoulder blades, Felix grimaces and stares across at Dimitri. “Fuck, I don’t want your help. Just keep her distracted, yeah?”

That seems doable enough for Dimitri, because he tries to pat Felix’s back again. Except Felix moves away, and Dimitri is left to nod awkwardly. “Yeah. Of course.”

_Hours until midnight: 1_

_Hours until Felix proposes: 1_

This is it. If his life were a western movie, Felix thinks this would be when the music begins its steady build up until it reaches climax. Except it isn’t, and instead Felix is left clutching Dorothea’s hand for dear life as the programmer on the television states that it’s now 11:00 PM.

“You’ve got the wrong girl’s hand,” Dorothea says. She’s got a glass of wine in her other hand, and when she looks across at Felix, he can tell there’s subtle exasperation in her voice.

“Oh.” He releases her hand immediately from where he’s grabbed it on the couch. “Sorry, Dorothea. Didn’t notice.” Felix clears his throat. “Didn’t realize it was so close to midnight.”

Dorothea rolls her eyes, standing up and brushing off her satin dress. She’s pretty, gorgeous in a way that differs from Annette’s own looks. Felix would call it a not-attractive-to-him gorgeousness, but he thinks if he says that out loud he’d get a slap to the face. He imagines it would be rightfully so.

“I’m going to get you a nice shot of vodka, okay Felix? You’re so rigid that I can tell even your ass is clenched.”

Is it really? Felix tosses a look over his shoulder at his seated rear the moment Dorothea walks away. It doesn’t look any different than its normal concaveness.

By the time Dorothea’s back, Felix has a shot glass held hesitantly between his hands. He doesn’t move to throw it back.

“Oh, come _on._ Not even Ingrid is this pathetically uptight. Why don’t you just get it over with now?” They both know she’s not talking about the untouched shot glass, because being best friends with Sylvain and Dimitri means everyone knows Felix is planning to propose. That’s just how their friend group works.

Felix tips his head back and drinks it. The burn is welcome. “I have to wait. I’m going to do it exactly at midnight. It won’t be as special if I do it before then.”

Dorothea nods. Her expression is unreadable. “Annie pulled me aside about an hour back. She’s worried you’re upset at her.”

Oh, Goddess. Fuck. _Fuck._ That statement could not be so unbelievably far from the truth that for a second, Felix thinks about clutching the precious box housed in his pocket and presenting it there and now to Annette. “She doesn’t really think that, right?”

“No, dear. I calmed her down. But I think you should talk to her soon, no?”

Yeah. Felix thinks he should. It’s about time, isn’t it?

He gets up.

_Hours until midnight: 0_

_Hours until Felix proposes: Now_

Annette’s always beautiful, even when she’s in stained shirts and coats of Felix’s that run down to her knees. She’s beautiful when she sings and she’s beautiful in the morning glow of their kitchen. She’s beautiful when he kisses her and she’s beautiful with hair up and sweat along her back after an evening’s jog. 

She’s beautiful like this, too, with the glow of the television screen casting her in a purple hue. It’s a scene he feels like he’s lived before, with the same familiar tension in his gut and the swift pacing of his heart in his chest. Sylvain’s glitter noisemaker goes off, Mercedes pops a bottle of wine, and Dimitri kisses Marianne.

It’s the perfect setting.

“Annette?” he says, voice reaching across to embrace her.

His girlfriend turns, and when she flashes him a smile so brilliantly bright, Felix feels his hands clutch his breast.

Somewhere, Felix replays Rodrigue’s words. They feel useless now, because in his mind he has his own scenario to play out. There is no outlying influence as he pops open a wooden box and drops to one knee. There is no parrot in his ear that tells him what to do and what to say, because suddenly it feels so perfectly natural that all he can do is put forth the words that swell up from the depths of his heart.

“I know I’m not good at these things,” Felix says softly. “But I remain steady in the knowledge that I love you wholly, entirely with my heart alone.” The world seems to stop as Felix holds out the ring. “That’s why I want to ask for your hand in marriage.” He closes his eyes once, briefly, before opening them and gazing upon the woman of his dreams. “Will you marry me, Annette?”

Felix knows the world is still spinning when Annette says yes. He knows it’s spinning when he slides the delicate ring onto her finger, and he knows it’s spinning when he stands and gathers her in his arms.

It’s spinning too when Felix kisses her, and Annette’s lips meet him halfway.


End file.
